Article snippet: Shanahan said in the statement: Just over two weeks ago, the Pentagon authorized sending 1,500 troops to the Middle East, also in response to a request from McKenzie, over alleged increased threats from Iran. Those troops consisted of a Patriot battalion to defend against missile threats, drone aircraft, an engineer element, and a fighter aircraft squadron. This was on top of sending the USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber squadron to the region. Those deployments came after Centcom warned there were threats against U.S. troops in the region, the sabotage of four vessels, an armed drone attack on Saudi pumping stations, and a rocket attack in Iraq near the U.S. embassy. Shanahan referenced recent attacks on foreign oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman as justification. “The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behavior by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” he said. On Thursday, two oil tankers — one belonging to Norway and the other to Japan — were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, allegedly by limpet mines deployed by Iran. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo later that day attributed the attacks to Iran, and Centcom put out imagery and a video of what the command said were Iranian sailors retrieving an unexploded mine from the Japanese tanker. On Monday, it released more imagery. Iran denied carrying out the attacks, but British Foreign Secre... Link to the full article to read more